Minister Shrestha inaugurates 3rd Eastern Regional Tourism Fair

Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Mr. Ram Kumar Shrestha inaugurated the 3rd Eastern Regional Tourism Fair-2014 in Damak, Jhapa on January 30, 2014 amidst a grand function. Addressing the function, Minister Shrestha said that it was a great time to promote tourism regionally to strengthen the national economy. He also stressed that the local tourism entrepreneurs should come forward to integrate themselves in the mainstream tourism.

In his welcome speech, Acting Chief Executive of Nepal Tourism Board Subash Nirola said that it was necessary to work together among the stakeholders of tourism across the country for the promotion of tourism in regional level. He emphasized on the marketing of tourism product for economic benefit. "Our greatest challenge is to link our product with market, and to establish business to business network," he added.

Chief District Officer of Jhapa Mr. Ekmani Nepal, President Nepal Chamber of Commerce of Jhapa Mr. Prakash Prasai and representatives of .various associations and political parties also spoke on the occasion.

The Fair is being organized with the key objective to identify Nepal as a tourist destination, to promote domestic tourism, to promote and encourage cross-regional tourism between the Eastern region and the other development regions, and to impart knowledge and information about the tourism field. The event is to be held from January 30 to February 1, 2014 at Damak, Jhapa, Nepal.

The fair will be opened to the invitees on January 30 from 11 am to 1 pm and to the public thereafter. The stakeholders and public will have a free access to the fair from 11am to 5pm on the rest 2 days. Promotion of domestic tourism, publicity and promotion of identified tourist destinations as well as various tourism heritages around Nepal, promotion of home stay, exchange of information about various national and regional institutions associated with tourism, spreading awareness to uplift the living standards of rural areas and initiation of poverty alleviation are some of the primary purpose of the fair.

47 travel trade industries, tourism institutions and associations from different parts of Nepal are participating in the fair. The fair is also offering exciting door prizes for the attendees that include various cross-regional travel and tour packages. Nepal Tourism Board believes this Eastern Regional Tourism Fair-2014 will be a good platform to present and promote unidentified tourism heritages spread all over Nepal.

Tourism Service Fee revised after 9 years

As per the directive of the Executive Committee of Nepal Tourism Board under the sub-rule (2) and (3) of Rule 3 of Nepal Tourism Board Regulations, 2055 and approved by the Ministry of Finance, the Government of Nepal, the Tourism Service Fee(TSF) has been revised from Rs. 500 to Rs. 1000/- (excluding VAT) effective from March 1, 2014. The TSF will be levied on the outgoing foreign travelers departing from all airports in Nepal. However, it will be implemented only from Tribhuvan International Airport at present. Commenting on the new change, Mr. Subash Nirola, Acting Chief Executive of Nepal Tourism Board says that it would enable the Nepal Tourism Board to concentrate more on international promotion and domestic tourism development. With a bigger budget, Nepal Tourism Board will now prepare and implement 5 years plan to penetrate the market that has been unexplored before, says Mr. Nirola. I now urge all members of Nepalese travel trade industry to join in hands with us in promoting, expanding and developing Nepalese tourism industry also in regional level by putting effort in increasing length of stay, tourist arrivals and average income per visitor per day, he adds.

Over the last few years, the price rise in the international market coupled with the devaluation of Nepalese currency and stiff competition among destinations, for their presence in the international tourism market, has made it difficult for Nepal Tourism Board to fare well in the international promotion. So, it has become inevitable for Nepal Tourism Board to increase TSF to meet the expectation of Nepalese tourism industry and to cope with the paradigm shift in the international tourism promotion and marketing.

Nepal Tourism Board thanked especially Nepal Airlines Corporation, the National Flag Carrier along with all international airlines for their continued support and cooperation and look forward to receive same of kind of cooperation as before.

The Tourism Service Fee was introduced in 1999 to fund the promotional activities of Nepal Tourism Board levying 2% service charge in tourism services. However, the funding mechanism was later changed in January 14, 2005 with the levy of Rs. 500/- (excluding VAT) to all outgoing foreign travelers exiting from Tribhuvan International Airport. The Tourism Service Fee has been revised after 9 years.

Online visa introduced

In an attempt to offer better quality and smart services to our esteemed guest, the Department of Immigration has launched Online Application system for its valued customers. Since the system consumes less paper, it is also a part of our commitment to the environment friendly service.

Foreigners, who want to apply visa to visit or stay in Nepal can apply for Visa through this application system. The Online system could be log in to www.online.nepalimmigration.gov.np or www.nepalimmigration.gov.np from any place and at any time. The Online Application System can preserve your application for 15 days in its system, so you can apply at your convenience and produce it before Immigration Authority at the time of entry and visa extension. Department of Immigration is committed to provide quality and smart services to its online applicants.

Initially, the online service is available at the Department of Immigration, Kathmandu and one of the ports of entry of Immigration Office at Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu. You can apply online for all types of Visa except Diplomatic and Official at the Department. For Diplomatic and Official Visa, one has to apply online at Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For detail visa information, you can browse at www.nepalimmigration.gov.np

The Department of Immigration request all its valued customers to avail this Online Application facility and to get better quality and smarter services from us.

Nepal in FITUR 2014

FITUR 2014 came to an end on January 26, 2014 at the city of Madrid, Spain. One of the biggest fair in Europe, FITUR this year too received good number of trade visitor and general public. Nepals participation was coordinated by Nepal Tourism Board in association with Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA).

Nepal stall with 77 sq m area situated at the strategic location welcomed Nepal loving Spanish and other potential tourists. Most Spanish came to Nepal stall recalling their past visit to Nepal and with a promise to visit the country again. Spanish are known to be Nepal loving and recent Turkish Airlines connection will definitely bolster tourism from Spain.

NTB Welcomed the Newly Elected Executive Committees of Prominent Travel and Tour Associations

Nepal tourism board hosted a function on Tuesday, January 28 to welcome the newly elected executive committees of prominent travel and tour associations of Nepal which included Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA), Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN), Nepal Association of Tour Operators (NATO), Nepal Association of Rafting Agents (NARA), Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Nepal Chapter, Tourist Guides Association of Nepal (TURGAN), and Thamel Tourism Development Council (TTDC). The chief guest Mr. Sushil Ghimire, Chairman-Executive Committee NTB and Secretary of Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA), and Acting Chief Executive Officer of NTB Mr. Subash Nirola welcomed the presidents of the aforementioned associations along with all the executive committee members in the program and offered them Khada. The presidents of the associations also received NTB identity card/entry pass for an easier accessibility to the organization. The program was aimed at forming better coordination and collaboration between NTB and the travel and tour association in order to uplift the quality of tourism in Nepal. This initiative taken by NTB was applauded and appreciated by the participating guests and dignitaries.

A High-end Hotel Opening at Chitwan

The promoters of Hotel Landmark, Pokhara who have been successfully running the unique property with traditional architecture at the Landmark Chowk, Lakeside for the past 7 Years, have now come up with a project of a luxury resort in Chitwan called Landmark Forest Park.

The resort plans to have a soft opening on 27 February 2014, with 46 well appointed deluxe air-conditioned rooms, a well equipped conference hall with a capacity of 150, a well manicured garden that blends into the jungle environment, a swimming pool.

The resort boasts of being the first luxury resort of its kind in Baghmara, Chitwan and will be providing all the services of the jungle safari with packages to suit different types of travelers from around the world as well as the domestic tourists and locals.

The general manager, Mr. Sharad Pradhan, said that the concept is to work towards a high-end hotel in the jungle settings so that more luxury tourists get attracted to the area. They will get to experience the wilderness experience and at the same time enjoy state of the art hotel facilities as well. Since, tourism is one of the major economic factors in a country like ours, we must aim for tourists with a greater spending capacity. High end hotels aim to do just that. It will also create jobs and opportunities in the local market. The budget of the hotel is around Rs 20 crores, according to Mr. Pradhan.

Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) has sought to ensure that the contents of this newsletter are accurate at the time of transmission. NTB does not accept responsibility for any damage, loss, injury or inconvenience arising in connection with the contents of this newsletter.
Nepal Tourism Board wishes to thank all stakeholders for their wonderful support and assistance for promoting Nepal as a happening destination. We request all tourism industry stakeholders to send us news and articles at mediacenter@ntb.org.np , ssubedi@ntb.org.np or ntbmediacenter@gmail.com to include them in the weekly E-newsletters.